An Unexpected Twist
by ihavealifeiswear
Summary: A prequel to Challenging Fate. Aria's life takes a turn for the worst when a tragedy strikes. How will she ever be able to move past it? This multi-chapter tragedy is specifically to set up Challenging Fate, my opus Magnum.
1. Chapter 1

Aria groaned as she marched into Spencer's room and flopped down on Spencer's bed, her face landing on a pillow. She threw her cell phone across the room lightly and it landed at the door with a soft thud.

"Everything okay?" asked Spencer, looking up from the pile of textbooks surrounding her on the couch. "I thought you wouldn't be back until later." Aria was spending the week at Spencer's house while her mother went to a teaching convention in New York and her father took her brother Mike to a lacrosse tournament in California

"Nooooo," Aria mumbled through the pillow she had pressed up against her face, willing herself not to start crying. She never thought she'd have to deal with this kind of crap.

Spencer walked over and sat down next to Aria on the bed. "Did something happen with Holden?" He and Aria were supposed to be at the Grille, studying for tomorrow's big test in health class. But Aria mumbled a no and didn't elaborate. Spencer listened to the rain pelting on the windows for a few awkward, silent seconds until Aria pushed the pillow away from her face.

"Ezra's being an ass," she said sadly, fiddling with the tassels on the pillow.

"What did he do?" Spencer was surprised. The way Aria talked about him, she thought Ezra could do no wrong.

"He called me when I was studying with Holden and asked if I was busy. I said yes, but he was being really weird and said that he needed to see me."

"Why did he need to see you?"

"He didn't say. But then I said I was with a friend, and he kept asking where I was and who I was with. When I told him it was Holden, he turned into some weird, jealous freak."

This, too, was surprising for Spencer. From what Aria had told her, they never had problems with that kind of thing. Aria admitted to Spencer that she figured if Ezra was going to take such a risk by dating someone under 18, he must not be looking at other women. But she never talked about him getting worried about her fidelity. "How was he being a jealous freak?"

Aria groaned. "He kept asking why I was spending so much time with this 'other guy,' and why would I 'rather be with Holden' and not him, and 'what did I actually DO with him?'"

"Oh, God," said Spencer. She started rubbing Aria's back; this sounded like it was going to get messy. "What did you say back?"

"I told him he was making a big deal about nothing and that I would leave if it was such a big deal. Then I hung up." Ouch, thought Spencer. That probably wasn't the best way to end that conversation. "After that, Holden got upset because he saw that I was upset and asked if I needed to be somewhere else, so I told him I was sick and then came here."

Spencer frowned. "Why did you lie to Holden? He's a good guy; you could have told him you needed to be somewhere." He really was a good guy. Spencer knew that he had been close with Aria before she was part of the Ali clique, and when they hung out now, he was always acting like a gentleman, pouring sodas for people and holding open doors.

"Because I really didn't want to see Ezra after that. And because I actually DO feel sick."

"Are you okay?" Aria didn't answer and rolled over on to her back, her eyes closed. Spencer put her hand on Aria forehead in a motherly way. "You feel like you have a fever."

Aria glanced at Spencer and sat up. "I'm fine. I just have a bad headache. I hate fighting with Ezra. What would he think I'd be doing on a Sunday afternoon? He's been so weird lately."

Spencer awkwardly wrapped her arms around Aria and squeezed her tight. "It'll be fine. He'll get over himself. And until then, I'll go make some coffee."

"Do you have any decaf? I don't want to stay up too late. I want to sleep this off."

"Has there ever been any decaf in this house, ever?"

Aria started to laugh, but she dissolved into a coughing fit. When she stopped, Spencer rubbed her friend's back and whispered, "Hey, it's okay. Everything is going to be fine." Aria nodded, encouraged by her friend. Neither of them had any way of knowing how wrong Spencer was.

* * *

A blaring siren from an ambulance woke Aria with a start. She sat up on the sofa surprised, and then settled back down. She pressed her palm to her burning forehead and sighed. Her head was throbbing and that irritating ambulance wasn't helping. In fact, it sounded like multiple ambulances. She stared out into the rain, trying to see what direction they were driving, but the storm was too heavy and she couldn't see a thing. Maybe one should come pick me up, she thought. I'd go to the ER, get some antibiotics through an IV, and wouldn't have to deal with Spencer anymore. She insisted that Aria call her between every period while she was at school to make sure that she hadn't spontaneously fallen into a coma,like THAT was going to happen. She just had some 24-hour flu, she was sure. But she felt too crappy to go to school, which really didn't improve her experience in the Hastings' home. It wasn't so bad living there when she'd arrived last Friday, but when Aria started getting sick yesterday, Spencer turned into SUCH a mommy, insisting Aria sleep downstairs on the couch where it was cooler, constantly waking her up to check her temperature, and bringing her hot tea all throughout the night when she couldn't sleep.

It WAS nice having Spencer so caring, though. Aria had kind of drifted out of touch with her mother in the last few weeks since she moved out. As for her father, they hadn't been on goods terms for a while, ever since she told him about her and Ezra. It had gotten better recently; she could say his name now without her father turning bright red a mumbling that he had to make a phone call. But things were still frosty to say the least, which was why it was nice to have someone caring about he so much. She suspected Spencer had never gotten a lot of that, either. Her parents weren't very loving, at least to Spencer. That was part of the reason she and Spencer were so close: it was nice to have someone to care about outside of their crazy families. But the nurse act was getting irritating.

Suddenly, the phone started ringing. That, on top of the sirens from outside, was really loud. Aria covered her ears with a pillow and snuggled back down into the couch, letting the answering machine pick up. "Hi, it's Holden, calling for Aria." Holden? Aria flipped onto her back to listen. "You weren't in health this morning, so I figured you had stayed home sick because you didn't feel well yesterday. I just wanted to call to make sure you were okay and wanted to know if you want to come by with your homework, or bring you some soup or something. Call me if you need anything. Feel better."

Aria sighed. Holden was so sweet. He had been her only friend for years before she got close to Alison. They spent every minute together when they were younger, especially because their families were so close. But they drifted apart when Aria joined Ali's inner circle. Ali constantly teased her for being in a "deep, passionate bromance with a dork like Holden," as Ali always said. Holden had been nice to her even when she was a kooky little kid, but it was easier to stop seeing him to have to deal with the torture. She'd hoped they could be friends again after Ali went missing, but as soon as Aria got back from Iceland, Holden's family left for Portugal. Since he returned, though, the two of them had gotten close again, especially since her friends weren't so judgemental of her "bromance" anymore.

BLEEEP. The alarm on Aria's cell went off. She sat back up and grabbed it off the coffee table. It was set to go off five minutes before each period change at school so she would be awake when Spencer called. She peered at the phone's screen; she had a missed call from Holden and a new voicemail from Ezra. Curious, she played it over speaker phone: "bbbllllrgrgrggpphphphhhsshhs shh." THAT was a dissapointment. She was hoping for him to call and apologize, but he probably butt-dialed her. He just got an iphone and couldn't seem to operate the touch screen. Aria checked the clock: 11:27. Spencer would be headed to lunch at 12:30. Just thinking about food made Aria queasy. But her throat felt itchy and dry. She coughed a few times and sat up. Wrapping a blanket around her shoulders, she shuffled towards to kitchen to get a glass of water. She stumbled when another siren blared. What was with all of these ambulances? Aria filled a glass with tap water and reached for the remote. Hopefully the TV would drown out those sirens. The television flickered to life and the daily news came into view. "BREAKING NEWS!" declared a dramatic newscaster. Breaking news in Rosewood? The only news in Rosewood was about Alison. Aria turned to the TV, curious to see what the scum-sucking reporters had dug up. Hopefully, it wasn't about her. When she saw the story, the glass slipped from her hand, shattering around her feet.


	2. Chapter 2

Tick tick tick tick tick. Hanna, Emily, and Spencer watched the clock anxiously. Normally, English class was fun, seeings as it was the only class the three of them plus Aria all had together. But today, they had a substitute because Mrs. Montgomery was out of town, and they were watching a very dull BBC documentary on Shakespeare's life. Normally when they had a substitute, Hanna would spend the class on facebook, and Spencer and Emily would catch up on their homework (after school sports made their schedules tight). But old Mr. Weinstein, a frequent Rosewood substitute, had hawk-eyes and demanded that they pay every ounce of attention to whatever mundane, time-filling activity they were given when their teachers weren't there.

DING DING DING! The bell blared and the class all jumped from their seats. "Saved by the bell!" said Emily cheerfully.

"Saved from slowly killing myself," mumbled Hanna as the she slid out the door. "Who knew Old England could be dull. I'm surprised Shakespeare lived long enough to write plays before he died of boredom."

"Well, I thought it was fascinating," Spencer interjected. She proceeded to ramble of a list of her favorite facts she learned from the movie as they walked down the crowded hallway towards their lockers. Emily caught Hanna's eye, and the two of the chuckled quietly. Of course Spencer thought it was fascinating; she also thought cell division was thrilling and that solving calculus equations was a joy.

"Aren't you going to call Aria?" Emily interrupted. She silently apologized to Aria. The last thing the poor girl needed while being sick was to have Spencer checking on her every hour. It was nice that Spencer was so concerned for her friends, but it was a little OCD for her to keep calling. Aria was probably trying to sleep.

"Yeah, just as soon as I get my lunch," Spencer said, neatly placing books in her locker. Suddenly, Spencer's cell started ringing and everyone jumped. The familiar, uneasy feeling washed over all of them. Was it "A" texting Spencer? No, her phone kept ringing; someone was calling her.

"It's Aria," Spencer said, squinting at the screen. She flipped open the phone. "Hi! Are you feeling any better?" Spencer's voice went up an octave and she talked slowly, like she was speaking to a toddler. But all of a sudden, the cuteness vanished. "Aria?" said Spencer in her normal voice. Her forehead wrinkled in concern. "Aria, stop crying. I can't understand what you're saying."

Crying? Emily and Hanna stopped what they were doing and looked at Spencer. They tried to hear what Aria was saying, but all that was coming from the phone was loud, muffled sobs. "Aria, take a deep breath." Spencer tried to keep her voice even, but Emily and Hanna could see the panic on her face. "Okay, now tell me what happened," Spencer said when the sobbing coming from the phone stopped. Emily and Hanna watched her face slowly fall as Spencer muttered "uh-huh" every few seconds. She grew paler every second.

"Spencer, what's going on? Is Aria okay?" Hanna asked, unable to take it. Spencer put up a finger to shush her.

"Okay," Spencer said finally, taking a deep breathe. "Get dressed and I'm leaving school now. I will be there as soon as I can. Everything will be okay, Aria." With that, she shut the phone, and she threw her backpack into her locker.

"Spencer, what just happened?" asked Emily. She hoped her voice didn't convey her panic.

"Go to the office and tell them I got really sick and drove home," Spencer said hurriedly. She then broke into a run and started down the hallway, towards the school's exit.

Hanna ran after her, with Emily close behind. She grabbed Spencer's arm mid-stride. "What's going on?" she cried. "What happened to Aria? Is she okay?!"  
Spencer looked at her and Emily mournfully. "Aria's fine, but Ezra isn't. He's been in a car accident. Aria needs to get to the hospital."

* * *

"Aria, slow down!" Spencer called after Aria as she sprinted down the hospital hallways. Aria dashed around corners, frantically trying to find her way through the ICU. Spencer trailed after, only being able to follow her by the squeaking sound of her sneakers on the tiled floor. When she finally caught up, she only caught a glimpse of Aria before she dashed into a nearby room.

Out of breath, Spencer jogged into the room after her. Once inside, she let out an audible gasp. There was Ezra, lying on the hospital bed. Dried blood was matted in his hair and ran down the side of his face and arms; he had a broken leg, the bone tearing through the bloody surface of his thigh; and endless tubes were snaking out of his body.

"Aria?" Ezra choked out weekly, blood running down the sides of his face with every cough.

Tears welled in her eyes, but she tried to keep an even face. She knelt down closer to the bed, but the smell of Ezra's blood instantly made her queasy. Everything started spinning really fast, and she promptly slipped and fell on her butt. Spencer was the in an instant, carefully helping her up in a chair that was by the bed. "Slow down; you're still sick," she said.

"Sick?" said Ezra. "Are you ok? What's wrong?"

This was so shocking to Aria that she burst out laughing. She probably sounded like an idiot, but she was too surprised. "Of course. Of course you'd be in a hospital bed, asking about my 24-hour flu. Shouldn't I be asking if you're okay?"

Ezra smiled, and Spencer laughed uneasily. She sensed that the two wanted to be alone, so she turned to Aria and said, "I'll be right out in the hall if you need me." Aria nodded, and Spencer squeezed her hand one last time before walking out.

Aria turned to Ezra. "Why aren't there any doctors in here? Why isn't anyone doing anything?"

Ezra sighed deeply before responding. "I'm having surgery in about half an hour. Apparently the impact tore a muscle in my heart, and I have to have it stitched up as soon as possible, which means I can get a cast or stitches yet, if that's what you meant."

Aria was silent for a long moment, unsure of what to say. Finally, she whispered, "I'm sorry about what I said yesterday."

"No," Ezra hissed. "I'm the one who needs to apologize. I shouldn't have acted like that."

"Why were you so upset? We've never-"

"Aria, lately, my future hasn't been as. . . certain as it once was. I've had to do a lot of thinking about what really matters to me. What, when it comes down to it, I would fight for. What really matters."

"Ezra, you're not making sense."

Ezra cleared his throat nervously. "Aria, reach into my pocket."

"What? Why-"

"Please. There's something I need you to see."

Aria was hesitant; she didn't want hurt to Ezra or have to touch the blood. But she gingerly leaned forward and snaked her hand into the front pocket of Ezra's ripped, bloodied khakis. She felt a soft box, just small enough to fit in her palm and wrap her fingers around. She grabbed it out and looked at it. It was black velvet and had a clamp in the back. It looked just like a box where someone would put a-

"Open it," whispered Ezra. But Aria didn't have to. She knew, even before she opened the box, what would be inside.

"It's beautiful," she breathed. A round diamond stared up at her from a silver band. It threw rainbow prisms all over the room when she removed it from the box.

Ezra looked at her sadly. "I bought it yesterday. I was going to give it to you on your birthday next week. Your 18th birthday." Aria didn't say anything. She just stared at Ezra, confused.

"That's a hell of a birthday gift," Aria said finally. She put a fist around the tiny ring, too afraid to drop it.

"Well, I did a lot of thinking about what to get you. When you turn 18, you become an adult. That means we can spend time together. All of our time. And I don't want to spend any time without you."

Ezra paused before continuing, and Aria grabbed his wrist with her free hand. "Aria, I want to be with you for the rest of my life, whether it's for five years, or fifty years, or five minutes here in this hospital room. So, Aria, will you marry-"

Before he could finish, Aria leaned over and kissed him, kissed him like it was the first day they met, in that pub. Kissed him like it was the last time she'd ever kiss him.

Which it was.

Suddenly, Ezra pulled away from Aria and started coughing. Aria held onto his hand tightly when the machines around him started beeping faster, louder, angrier. Fresh blood came pouring down his shirt. It took a moment for Aria to realize the blood was coming from Ezra's mouth. He coughed louder and the machines kept beeping.

Men and women in baby blue scrubs poured into room. They started talking fast, working over Ezra's jerking body. One man with green eyes (that was all she could see below his cap and above his mask) grabbed onto her arm. "You need to leave, sweetheart." He was gentle at first, by when he saw that she wasn't going anywhere, he yanked her up from the chair But her hand was still locked onto Ezra's.

Aria didn't say anything, just screaming Ezra's name. He didn't respond. The doctor grabbed Aria's wrist, but she fought him, grabbing onto Ezra for dear life. Spencer ran in the room and grabbed her by the shoulders just as the loud beeping stopped. Only one machine was still going, holding a single, deafening note: the note of a heart-monitor gone flat.

"CLEAR!" someone screamed as they placed paddles on Ezra's chest, and that was when Aria's grip slipped and she let go. She screamed, and Spencer grabbed onto both of Aria's wrists from behind her.

"CLEAR!" someone screamed again, as Spencer dragged Aria backwards. Aria was still screaming and tried to dig her feet into the floor, but it was too slippery against her rubber sneakers.

"Clear," said a doctor calmly, clearly giving up. Spencer finally succeeded in getting a hysterical Aria into the hallway. She wasn't crying, but her screams were so loud they could have been heard on the next floor. Spencer tried to hug her, but when she let go of Aria's wrists, she dashed down the hallway.

Spencer followed her through hospital corridors._ For someone who was lying in bed sick this morning_, thought Spencer, _she sure can run pretty fast_. "Aria!" she screamed. But Aria didn't slow down. She ran to the ER lobby and went straight out the door.

Spencer followed her through the pouring rain to the end of the hospital driveway. But when Aria dashed across the street, Spencer had to stop as car after car came whizzing by. She squinted through the rain, trying to find where Aria was going, but she was gone. Spencer didn't see her anywhere.


	3. Chapter 3

Spencer pounded on the door of a small, pretty house on Mocking Bird Lane in South Rosewood. Her heart was racing faster than the rain pelting her umbrella when Holden answered the door. Without even saying hello, Spencer jumped inside and started looking around.

"Is Aria here?" Spencer asked worriedly.

"Uh- um, no. Should she be?" said Holden confused.

"I have no idea. She's missing-

"MISSING? What do you mean missing?"

"She ran away. Emily, Hanna, and I have been driving around for hours trying to find her."

"Why would she do that? And why would she come here?"

Spencer hesitated; how much could she tell him? Aria admitted to her that  
Holden knew about Ezra, but would she want him to knowing about-

"Did that guy do something to her? The one she's dating? She seemed so upset about something he said yesterday." Spencer's silent stare was enough of a confirmation. "If that jerk hurt her, I will-"

He stopped when he saw the tears forming in Spencer's eyes. Without thinking, she spilled the whole story: watching Aria find the ring the hospital room's window, forcing herself to yank Aria away when Ezra's heart stopped, Emily and Hanna's worried and disappointed looks when Spencer said that she couldn't find Aria, the three of them splitting up and driving all over town in the pouring rain to her house, school, his apartment, Hollis, anywhere they could think of trying to find her to no avail.

She didn't hesitate to fall into Holden's arms when he hugged her. She could see why Aria liked him so much; she felt safe just being near him. He looked down at her with his calm, caring eyes. "Is there any special place the two of them had that she might have gone to?"

"I don't know. Maybe the restaurant where they first met? But I don't think she'd go there. I have no idea where she's running away to."

"I doubt she'd actually run away. I think she's probably just somewhere in Rosewood, waiting for someone to go and find her."

Waiting. Suddenly, Spencer realized she knew exactly where Aria went. Why didn't she think of it before? She tossed Holden her car keys.

"I know where she is. You drive and I'll tell you how to get there."

Holden nervously grabbed his keys followed her to his car parked on the sidewalk. Both of them slid in and Spencer pulled up a map on her phone.

"So, how far away is this place?"

Spencer squinted at the tiny map nervously. "Um, maybe about an hour?"

"An HOUR?"

Spencer gave Holden a stern look. "Look, if we find her, than she will be very, very grateful one day."

_What?_ thought Holden. After a few seconds, it clicked in his mind. He revved the engine, pressed the gas, and began the long, long drive to Aria.

* * *

Holden parallel parked on the empty street as Spencer opened her umbrella. He wanted to go with her, but he knew that he shouldn't. Spencer opened the car door and immediately felt the wind whipping at her with full force. Holden watched her walk briskly across the empty street towards Aria. She sat down on the bench next to her and closed her umbrella. Holden was grateful for the small covering over the bench because he could see Aria more clearly. She was frozen, emotionless, as she stared at the empty street in front of her. She wasn't crying; she didn't even look at Spencer when she sat down.

On the bench, Spencer looked Aria up and down. She was soaking wet from the rain and sat as still as a statue."How'd you get here?" she asked finally, because she was actually curious. It was pretty amazing that Aria managed to get all the way the Philly, an hour away from Rosewood by car, without a vehicle or money.  
It was a long time before Aria answered. She cleared her throat and said evenly, "I hitchhiked."

HITCHHIKED? Spencer was speechless; she couldn't have been more surprised if she said that she had ridden there on a unicorn. She didn't think Aria was ballsy enough to get into some stranger's car, but she also knew that if Aria wanted something enough, she could make it happen.

Without moving her gaze from the street, Aria spoke again: "How'd you figure out that I'd be here." It should have been a question, but her voice was flat, emotionless.

Spencer glanced up at the clock: 8 on the dot. How ironic. Did she dare tell Aria that it was the weirdest, most pathetic thing she could think of? "Lucky guess," she lied. "I'm amazing I was able to find the right bench in the rain."  
"Well, the clock tower makes it stand out. That's how Ezra found it so quickly."  
Spencer tensed at the mention of his name. Aria didn't seem to be affected; she just kept staring straight ahead. Spencer followed her gaze as she searched for something, someone. They were silent for what seemed like a very long time until Aria doubled over coughing.

Spencer placed a hand on her back, nervous. When Aria was breathing normally again, Spencer leaned towards her and felt her forehead. "You still have a pretty high fever," said Spencer tentatively. She couldn't actually tell; Aria was soaking wet and freezing cold. But she needed something to say. "We should probably get you back home."

Aria shook her head vigorously, her gaze never leaving the street. "I'm fine. I don't want to miss Ezra when he comes."

"When he comes?" Oh God, thought Spencer. Is she delirious with fever? Or just in denial? Or-

"You remember, don't you?" said Aria softly. "I asked him to meet me here at 8. It was just after my dad threatened him. He didn't return my calls, my texts. I waited for almost an hour and a half before he showed up." She sniffled sadly for a moment, but continued. "But he came. I doubted him. But he came."

Spencer did remember that night. How else would she be able to find the right place? "Aria-"

"I gave up. I thought we were over. But eventually he came. I'm not making the mistake of giving up on him again."

Spencer was speechless. What could she to something like that? She and Aria were silent again. They listened to the thunder for what seemed like ages until Aria started coughing again. Spencer tried again.

"Aria, are you sure you feel okay? You should probably go home and dry off-"

"NO," she responded fiercely. "Spencer, I can't miss Ezra."

Without thinking, Spencer managed to choke it out: the hard truth that she needed to hear. "Aria, Ezra isn't coming."

Slowly, Aria turned to face Spencer. A flash of lightning illuminated Aria's face so that Spencer could see the sorrow in her eyes. Another second passed before Aria answered her:

"I know."

Thunder boomed suddenly, mimicking the fast, hard beating of Aria's heart as she started sobbing. She leaned into Spencer and didn't run when Spencer hugged her, like she had in the hospital. Instead, she wept into Spencer's chest while Spencer rubbed Aria's back and whispered, "It's okay; It's okay" over and over again. But Aria couldn't hear her. Aria couldn't even hear herself crying. She was being drowned out by the deafening roar of the constant, rhythmic thunder overhead.

**Three chapters left! I will post them soon if I get a review of this chapter. Hope you like it :)**


	4. Chapter 4

"Please, Aria, just swallow it," Spencer gently begged. She had been trying to get Aria to swallow the pills for over half an hour. But it was no use; she was crying too hard. She had been like that since arriving at Spencer's house. She had held it together in the car, lying across the backseat with her head in Spencer's lap, not making a sound. But now, she was half sitting, half lying on Spencer's bed, sandwiched between Emily and Hanna. They were both hugging her and trying to calm her down, but nothing was helping.

But it definitely wasn't helping that Spencer was trying to make her take some medicine. She kept making Aria try to swallow two giant pills, one white and one blue, but she couldn't choke them down. Every time she tried, they caught in her throat and she coughed them back up. Hanna, who had her arms wrapped around Aria's shoulders, glared at Spencer. "It's fine, Spence. She can take some tomorrow."

"No," insisted Spencer. "She needs to take some now." She gave Hanna an angry look that Hanna couldn't read. She turned to Aria. "Please, just try one more time."

Aria put the pills back in her throat and took a swig of water. Suddenly, Spencer crawled across the bed towards her and clamped her hand of Aria's mouth.  
"Spence! What are you doing?" screamed Emily. Aria started choking and sputtering, but Spencer didn't move her hand. Emily and Hanna tried to push her away, but Spencer didn't move. With her free hand, she pressed onto Aria's shoulder so she couldn't push Spencer away. When she finally managed to swallow the pills, Spencer backed away.

"Spencer, what the hell was that about?" said Hanna, letting go of Aria. She was bent over in Emily's arms, gagging and coughing and gasping for air. Spencer said nothing in response to Emily and Hanna screaming, just rubbed Aria's back gently. After a few seconds, Aria's breathing slowed down and she collapsed in Emily's lap.

"She'll thank me tomorrow," said Spencer. It took Emily and Hanna a few moments to realize that she was asleep.

"Spence, that wasn't medicine, was it?" asked Emily, confused.

"Well, one of those pills was. The other was a tranquilizer. Melissa used to take them for when she'd get panic attacks. She should wake up in about 12 hours."

"You DRUGGED HER?"

Spencer wiped away a tear from Aria's cheek with her thumb. "Like I said, she'll thank me when she wakes up."

Fifteen minutes later, the three of them had moved Aria so she was lying down under the covers. Emily and Hanna sat on Spencer's couch across the room, watching her sleep. Spencer brought up some mugs of tea.

"Poor Aria," whispered Emily sadly.

Hanna looked at her. "Is this what it was like for you, when Maya. . ." She couldn't finish that sentence.

Emily nodded. "It felt like. . . the entire world was falling apart. But I think it's different for Aria. She and Ezra were. . ."

"He gave up everything for her," Spencer said simply. "And she was going to give up everything too."

"What do you mean?"

"She would have done anything to stay with him. Go to Hollis to stay close to him, move wherever he got a job, anything. She was going to spend her life with him."

This left them silently for a few minutes, sadly sipping their tea. Out of the blue, Hanna said something. "Can I tell you guys something crazy?"

Everyone nodded, and Hanna looked down at her cup. "Pnce or twice I've daydreamed about my wedding. My wedding, if I ever married Caleb. I know that, yeah, I'm 17, but I still think about the dress I'd wear, walking down the aisle, dancing our first dance."

"That's not crazy, Han," Spencer whispered. "I've thought about my wedding, too."

Emily nodded. "Doesn't everyone?"

"I know." Hanna looked over at Aria, fast asleep and swaddled in blankets. "The crazy part is, after we broke up last, whenever I daydreamed about weddings again, I thought to myself, 'That would never happen to Aria.' I thought about how lucky she is, having such a great guy. I pictured myself as a bridesmaid, standing with you guys at her wedding and watching her and Ezra together. We all knew they were going to stay together in the end. I couldn't say the same for any of us, but I knew that Aria was going to get that happy ending."

Another boom of thunder outside cut Hanna off. No one knew what to say; they all thought that about Aria. They just couldn't admit it to her face now.

"I should probably call her Mom," Spencer mumbled, reaching for her cellphone.

Emily shook her head. "I already did. She's driving home, first thing tomorrow."

"It doesn't feel like there's going to be a tomorrow," whispered Hanna into her mug.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean- It just doesn't feel like today could possibly end, could it?"

But tomorrow came. Tomorrow came, and Ella returned home to her daughter. The girls stayed with Aria so long that eventually Ella kicked them out so they could go home and be with their families. And two days later, a Wednesday night, Byron burst through the door into his house. Ella stood up from her seat on the couch next to Aria.

"Shh. She's asleep."

"Mike, go to your room," said Byron quietly. Mike hugged his mother and then softly padded upstairs after stopping to glance at Aria, who was fast asleep on the couch in the living room.

As soon as he was gone, Ella fell into Byron's waiting arms. It was the closest they'd been physically since months before getting divorced. She thought it would be awkward being this close to him again, but Ella felt safe in his familiar arms.

"How is she doing?" Byron said finally.

"Terrible," Ella whispered. The tea kettle started whistling, so she went to grab two mugs. "She's barely speaking, hasn't even said five words to me since I got back."

"When Emily called me, she said that Aria had been crying-"

"No, not even crying. She just lays there, not saying anything. I wish she'd cry. It would be better than this silence."

Ella poured the tea and sat down at the table next to Byron. She handed him a mug, and he looked up at her and said, "Well, let's just be glad that this nightmare is over."

Ella looked up from her tea. "Over? What do you mean over? She's still so upset, which is understandable."

"No, I mean this whole Ezra thing. We won't have to deal with him anymore."

Ella's spoon fell with a clatter onto the table. "Are you meaning to tell me that you a glad that this man is dead?"

"No, Ella, of course I'm not glad. I'm just relieved that he won't be causing anymore problems-"

Ella stood up. "Byron. Aria LOVED him. Are you honestly saying that-"

"Would you keep your voice down, Ella? All I was saying was that-"

"Stop, Byron," said Ella. "Just, stop talking. It didn't matter how many "problems" he caused. What matters is that our daughter cared about this man, and now he is gone."

"Ella, can you honestly tell me that you don't think Aria is better off this way?"  
"Better OFF?"

"Yes, better off! She won't have the deal with the questions, the people who judge him AND her, the colleagues she will eventually have who-"

"What I know," she said evenly, "Is that our daughter had feelings for this man, and now he is gone. And no matter how miserable she would have been juggling all of those obstacles, she is miserable right here, right now. And you, Byron, are certainly not going to help her be any less miserable talking like that. Maybe you should just go away. That is probably what would help her the most."

Too late, Ella saw the hurt in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Byron, I just-"

"If you want to spend the night here, I can carry Aria to her room and I'll take the couch."

"No, I'll just come back in the morning. Call me when she wakes up."

"I will," said Byron. Ella placed her mug in the sink, grabbed her purse, and walked briskly out the door. Byron sighed and walked through the living room to go upstairs. But when he passed Aria, her eyes were wide open, staring at him.

"Did you hear all that?" he asked quietly. Aria didn't answer. She just stared at him, unblinking. Her face was blank, emotionless.

Byron leaned in and kissed her on her forehead. She didn't move a muscle. Byron looked at her and, "I'm sorry, Aria. I love you." Then, he turned off the lights and walked upstairs.


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey, sweetie, how you feeling?" Spencer whispered as she sat down next to Aria on the bed. Aria didn't look at her, just kept staring at the wall. "Holden told me to give you these," said Spencer, placing a big bouquet of flowers on the night stand. They were lupines, Aria's favorite. But she didn't look up. Finally, Spencer sighed. She dug into her pocket and pulled out a tiny foil packet. "Wren told me to give you these," she said, tearing open the packet.

That finally got Aria to look up. "Xanax?" It was the first thing she said to Spencer in a week. Spencer nodded, slipped the little pills into Aria's hands, and sighed.

"Have you gotten out of bed today?" Aria swallowed the pills, dry, and ignored the question. She wrapped a blanket around her even more tightly and lay back down.

A few tears threatened in Spencer's eyes, but she didn't dare cry. "Aria, please, talk to me. Anything. Just cry even. Something, anything."

Aria closed her eyes. The words were barely registering in her mind.  
"Aria, please, this is scaring me. It's scaring Emily and Hanna. It's scaring your parents."

Her eyes shot open, but they were emotionless. "My parents? My parents couldn't be more thrilled."

"Aria, what are you talking about?" Aria rolled over so that she was facing the wall. "Aria, you're parents don't think that. They love you. Do you hear me? Aria, they love you."

Aria shook her head. "My dad thinks life will be easier, now that he's gone. That everything won't be so. . . hard. And he's right. I won't have to struggle anymore."

Spencer gasped. She couldn't believe what Aria was saying. She expected denial, rejection, pain. Not this. "Aria, he doesn't think that."

Aria sat up. "He's right. I won't have to fight anymore. So, I'm supposed to feel happy. I'm supposed to feel fucking relieved. But I don't."

Spencer wrapped her arms around Aria. This was the most she had said to anyone since the day Ezra died. "Aria, you're boyfriend just died. You're not supposed to feel happy. You're supposed to feel pain."

"BUT I DON'!" she screamed. I feel nothing. I feel absolutely nothing. I should be . . . eating ice cream with a ladle, and playing sad music, and crying my fucking eyes out. But I'm not. I don't feel anything."

Spencer didn't know what to say, so she let her mouth run before her brain. With one hand, she traced lines on Aria's back with her fingers. "Do you feel this?" Aria nodded. "You must feel something, then. You're just in shock. You're going to feel it sometime, and it's going to hit you like a speeding train. You just have to wait until that happens." Aria exhaled deeply. She hadn't realized that she was holding her breath.

"They're making me go to school tomorrow," she said softly.

Spencer nodded. "And you'll tell people you had bronchitis. And teachers will feel bad for you, and it will be fine. And Emily and Hanna and I will sit with you at lunch, and you can sit with Holden at lunch. . ."

"Holden probably hates me."

Spencer raised her eyebrows. "Hates you? He sent you flowers."

"I didn't say a word to him that night," Aria whispered. "He must be pissed. Some friend I am."

Spencer rolled her eyes. "Aria, who cares if you didn't say anything to him? That was a rough night. He understands."

Aria pulled away from Spencer. "Did he tell you that he understands?"

Spencer shook her head. "He's been kind of quiet all week. I haven't got a chance to talk to him lately. But he does, Aria. I know he does." Aria seemed skeptical. "Well, either way, you'll find out tomorrow. I've got to get home; Hanna told me she'll be here at 7 tonight. I'll drive you to school tomorrow if you want."

"No, my mom's taking me."

"Okay, then I'll see you in class." Spencer smiled weakly. "See you then, okay? Love you." With that, Spencer gave Aria one last, tight hug, and walked out the door.

The following day, a Thursday morning, Aria slid into her seat in first period health class. Her father told her that she needed to go back to school. She had been out for all of last week and half of this week, just lying in bed. She couldn't read or write in her journal; she'd just lay there. Her mom and dad took turns missing work to stay with her, but they didn't talk to her, Her mom sat there with her, rubbing her back for hours on end while Aria napped or just looked at the ceiling. Her dad was too embarrassed to spend time with her, only entering her room to bring her a lunch that she would never eat. After school, her friends took turns coming over and staying the night.

As students began to take their seats, Aria thought about those nights with her friends. Spencer would bring homework, hers as well as Aria's, and try to teach her everything that she was missing. When she saw that Aria wasn't interested, she just sat there hugging her friend. Emily would bring DVD's and the two would watch movies in silence while Emily snuggled close to her friend and forced out laughs during comedies. And Hanna, oddly enough, would do Aria's hair: she would straighten, curl, braid, and brush for hours while chatting happily, filling in Aria about all of the latest high school drama. She thought the gleeful conversation would be a nice distraction.

They were very one-sided discussions because Aria did very little talking. It wasn't that she was too depressed to say anything, like her parents thought. It was because she really had nothing to say. Nothing seemed to matter to her anymore.

Holden slipped into the seat next to her. He was her only good friend in this class, and they spent the whole time passing notes or whispering. They had two seats in the back, so the teacher couldn't see what they were doing. A lot of the time, Holden would just turn to Aria and make faces at her until she started laughing, sometimes so loudly that she got a detention. But today, she couldn't even look at him.

He hadn't said a word the whole ride back to Rosewood from Philly. Aria had lay down with her head on Spencer's lap, trying not to lose it in front of him. Even so, a few tears spilled over every few minutes, and as soon as she was at Spencer's she started sobbing hysterically. He drove them up Spencer's driveway, and they left without a goodbye. Aria wasn't sure how to feel about that. It wasn't she needed him to comfort her, not to mention the fact that she would have been mortified to lose it in front of him, but they had been friends so so long, she would have expected-

"ARIA!" squealed a familiar voice. Jenny was a cheerful, red-headed girl who sat on Aria's other side. She always meant well, but was overly friendly and a bit ditzy.

"I missed you so much! Where were you?"

Aria tried to offer a weak smile. "Sick. I had bronchitis." Bronchitis. _Not like the person I love died or anything. Just bronchitis_. She tried to cough a few times to make it more believable, but it was pretty fake sounding.

"Oh, you poor thing! That must have been really hard."

"Yeah," Aria mumbled back. She thought about the time she actually did have Bronchitis, when she was 12. _Yeah, it was hard_, she thought. _Much harder than reading his obituary, or seeing the story on the news, or figuring out what to do with the three-carot diamond-  
_  
"Alright class, let's begin," her health teacher, a short, chubby woman who the students all just called Brenda, announced loudly in her trashy New York accent.  
"Take out your homework on the reproductive system."

Holden spun around to Aria and flashed her a cute, boyish smile. "That textbook is the closest she is ever going to get to seeing a dick, huh?"

Aria didn't respond, just flipped through her textbook until she found the right page. Holden frowned and leaned over to peer into her textbook. "Wonder what kind of poor bastard gets stuck drawing those pictures for a living. They should pay him more."

Aria looked away from him, unable to meet his eyes. Holden sighed and said, "Are you doing okay?"

_Am I doing okay, Holden? Do you actually think you have to ask if I'm doing okay_? Before Aria could respond, a message crackled over the PA: "ATTENTION. ALL SENIORS PLEASE REPORT TO THE AUDITORIUM FOR AN ASSEMBLY."

**I know I said 3 more chapters, but there will be more. At least a total of 9. Will definitely update tomorrow, hopefully tonight. Please review, I like reading your opinions!**


	6. Chapter 6

Aria walked down the hall like a zombie at the back of the class. Holden was next to her, staring nervously at her downcast eyes. As soon as everyone else was out of earshot, he whispered to her, "Did you get the flowers that I sent with Spencer?"

Aria nodded, looking away from him. "You have no idea how hard it is to find Lupines in October. I remembered they were your favorites."

Aria nodded again, still not meeting his eyes. Holden kept trying, but failing. "I thought you'd like them. I thought they'd brighten up your room."

Aria cleared her throat and said, "Thanks for thinking of me." She still didn't look at him as they walked blindly down the hall. Holden stopped and stared for a moment as Aria paced ahead of her.

Aria stumbled into the auditorium, with Holden at her side. The rest of their health class was being herded into the sixth row of folding chairs that had been set up. She followed suit, ending up between Jenny and Noel Kahn.

"Montgomery," he said with that familiar swagger. He shot her a smarmy, dazzling smile. "Any clue what this is about?"

She didn't respond, only gazed around the room, searching for her friends. Emily was three rows up and a few seats to the left; Spencer was in the first row on the far right; Hanna was nowhere to be seen. She was probably one of the students still coming in, soon to be filling one off the folding chairs. There was over 300 chairs set up, enough for the whole senior class.

When all the seats were filled, Vice Principal Tamborelli stepped up to the mobile podium that had been moved to the front of the room. Aria glared at him. Ezra always hated him, saying that he was stingy about funding him to get new books-

_No_, she thought._ I can't think about Ezra. He's gone._

She kept scanning the room. At the front was a large screen hanging from the ceiling, and laptop and a projector. This was the usual set up whenever there was some sort of special assembly. But, Aria had no idea what was going on. To make things even stranger, there were several bouquets of flowers. Flowers- that was unusual.

Tamborelli cleared his throat, bringing Aria back into the moment. His deep voice thundered through the microphone. "Students, faculty, I'm sorry to have interrupted your daily classes, but there has been an event brought to my attention, and the Rosewood High administration feels that we should call attention to it. The Rosewood high faculty is not just a faculty, but a family."

_Snore_, thought Aria. _He probably gives this speech any time a donor is around. _He continued with this fake-emotional speech while Aria barely listened. But suddenly, something that Tamborelli said hit her ears.

"As I'm sure some of you know, one of Rosewood High's former teachers, former family members, Mr. Ezra Fitz-"

_Oh shit_, thought Aria. She suddenly felt like her heart had split in half and dropped into her feet. Vaguely she could hear Tamborelli droning about Ezra and what an wonderful faculty member he had been, but what she really saw was Noel's smirk at her. He whispered to her, "I bet you're wishing that you stayed with me last year, huh, Montgomery? Looks like your little teacher's pet plan didn't work out so well."

Aria turned her head away from Noel, pretending that she didn't hear him. She tried to focus on Jenny, who was too busy crying her eyes and whispering to the boy next to her, "Oh, poor Mr. Fitz. Such a good teacher!" to notice that Aria felt like she was about to puke. Everything got blurry around the edges, and her head was spinning. Aria thought for a serious moment that she was going to pass out. She darted from her seat, pushing around Jenny to get out of the aisle.

She shoved her way past her classmates had made it to the end of the aisle before a teacher started herding her back. She could feel everyone's eyes on her as the teacher angrily turned her around. "Please be respectful, Miss Montgomery," said her grouchy physics teacher.

"But, but- I, I," Aria stumbled. She couldn't come up with a good explanation to why she was leaving. Random sounds just kept spilling out of her. "But, I, I need- I've got to, uh, please, I just, um. . ." She knew she sounded like a babbling idiot, but what could she say?_ It's too painful for me to be at a memorial for my dead boyfriend, my dead FIANCE, while pretending to not care because he's just a teacher?_

The teacher was relentless. "Miss Montgomory, you are being extremely disrespectful. Now, return to your seat or we will have to discuss  
detentions."

"PLEASE, I can't stay here," she whined.

"Miss Montgomory," the teacher said in a no-nonsense voice. Aria wilted and eventually retreated back to her seat, ignoring to glances of people she tripped over.

Noel turned to her when she sat down, leaned in, and said, "So I guess your back on the market now, right?"

It took every ounce of restraint she had not to slap him._ I could kill him_, she thought. _Right now, with my bare. Freaking. Hands_. Instead, she sunk lower in her seat and turned away, suddenly focusing on the screen in front flashing photos of a happy, smiling Ezra at school functions.

Her eyes stung and she hiccuped, holding back a scream. Happy, smiling Ezra. Ezra. Ezra. Ezra, kissing her. Ezra. Ezra, holding her close. Ezra. Ezra, with blood covering him. Ezra. Ezra, proposing. Ezra. Ezra, dead. Ezra is dead. Ezra. EZRA.

_NO. I am NOT going to cry, right here, right now. That is not happening_. Aria took a deep breathe, sat up straight, closed her eyes, and waited patiently for the worst hour and a half of her life to be over.


	7. Chapter 7

As soon as the bell rang, Aria jumped from her seat. She pushed past Jenny and the rest of her class and darted out the auditorium. She was trying to hold the tears until she got where she was going, but she couldn't quite figure out where that was. She could hear her friends calling her name, so she started sprinting down the hallway. She dashed through hallways until she found the janitor's supply room.

She slipped inside the closet and walked calmly the door in the back of the room. She dug through her purse until she found her student ID and slipped it between the door and the wall. Everyone else in the school thought that the door was impossible to open, but Aria knew if you jiggled your ID in the right way, it would pop open like a jar of pickles.

Aria hadn't been back to her old hangout since early Freshmen year. Before she started hanging out with Ali, she didn't have many, ok any, friends. She would hide in this room to sketch, write, do her homework, or just escape the suckinss of highschool. After she started hanging out with Ali, though, she hardly had any free time, so it had been ages since she had been back here.

The room was probably about the size of a king-sized bed and had a second door that lead you to right outside the back of the school. A window let in fresh sunlight, which danced across the drawings that Aria had penciled into the walls all those years ago. She had painted words onto the walls: "Follow your dreams," "Be yourself," "Try your hardest." If it was only that easy. The room screamed Aria as a tween, a place to showcase her individualism, aka lack of friends. It room was probably the only place that didn't have some connection to Ezra, making it a perfect escape.

Suddenly, she heard the door jiggling. Shocked, Aria jumped back against the wall. Know one knew about the door but her, or so she thought. She held her purse in front of her, ready to smack whoever it was with her bag. The door popped open, and she gasped as Holden stepped in.

She didn't hesitate before falling into his arms, sobbing. He was surprised as she threw her entire body at him and they both collapsed into a giant beanbag chair that she had left there years ago. She didn't feel the slightest bit awkward as he rocked her back and forth, saying absolutely nothing. She was feeling it: the pain, the suffering. It felt like being shot in the heart, like sliding down a razor blade into booze, like being stabbed with a million sharp needles. It hurt like being crushed in a car compactor, being ripped apart by a hungry lion, drowning under a waterfall that kept pushing her down.

The pain was overwhelming, and Aria kept on crying. "Ezra's gone," she screamed. "He's dead. He's fucking dead." Saying it out loud didn't help. Each time she yelled another knife stabbed into her gut. Her entire body convulsed with each gaping sob into Holden.

Holden pulled her tighter and tighter, swaddling her in his arms. Soon, she couldn't move because Holden was wrapped around her like a boa constrictor. Her body tightened with the pressure, but relaxed under his grip.

After a few minutes, she began to calm down. Holden said softly, "I didn't know you still came in here."

Aria dug her head out of his chest, surprised. She wiped away a few tears and said, "How did you know about this place?"

Holden looked at her questioningly. "I showed it to you, remember?"

She honestly didn't. But after a moment, the scene flashed in front of her eyes. During a sunny day in the summer before eighth grade, she and Holden had ridden their bikes to the high school. It was just before she became friends with Alison, and she was as close with Holden as she'd ever been.

While they skipped stones in a nearby pond, she confessed that she was scared to start high school the year after. For a lonely, geeky girl like Aria, the giant high school was giant for someone so tiny.

Holden smiled at her and said he wanted to show her something, and practically dragged her through the high school to find the right closet. He showed her the room that he discovered when waiting for his brother one day and taught Aria exactly how to open the door. They made a pact that they would never, EVER tell anyone else about their secret hideaway.

She ducked her head, embarrassed that she had forgotten. "I can't believe I didn't remember that. I'm such an idiot.

"It's okay; it was a long time ago," said Holden gently. "A . . . lot happened between then and now." Aria nodded, unsure of what he was implying. "Stuff changes. And . . . people change."

Aria looked up at him and wiped her eyes. "Holden, what do you mean?"

"Well, you're a completely different person than who you were that summer. I mean look, at you. Back then, you were this cute little kid. And now, you're. . . you're gorgeous."

Aria blushed. She had never been called gorgeous by anyone except her friends and her Mom. Ezra was a poet, but even he never said she was gorgeous. Stunning, yes. Beautiful, yes. But never GORGEOUS.

Holden turned red when he realized what he'd said. "And, you're an artist, and writer, and you had a boyfriend, and, uh. . ." He stopped short and blushed even deeper red when he realized what he said. She HAD a boyfriend. Past tense. Now, she didn't.

"Oh, God, Aria, I didn't mean that. I didn't mean to SAY that."

Aria shook her head. "Hey, it's okay." She cleared her throat and whispered, "You know the worst part? I have to pretend like I don't even care. Like he was nothing to me."

Holden looked away from her, a great feat considering she was sitting on his lap. "I never said thank you," Aria said when she saw that he wouldn't respond. "For driving me home. . . that night. You're a good friend."

Holden looked at her, sorrow in his eyes. "Dammit, Aria. What kind of "friend" drives two hours for someone who doesn't even say thank you?"

Aria looked at him sadly and whisper, "A good friend. The best friend I've ever had."

Holden shook his head. "No, I'm not a good friend. I am the worst friend in the world." Aria started to interrupt him, but he ignored her. "I'm right. I know that I am. And I know because when Spencer told me what happened, I wanted to cheer. Because for one short second, I thought to myself, She's finally available."

Aria bit her lip, considering and not understanding. But after a second, it made sense. "Holden," she whispered. "I will never be able to stop loving him."

"I know, I know," he responded. "But the problem is, I'll always be able to say the same about you." He leaned forward and gently kissed her on the lips.

"I will always love YOU. I HAVE always loved you. And it DESTROYS me to see you so upset." He kissed her nose and gently caressed her face. It looked like he was in pain, great, sorrowful pain.

He pulled away after a second, and looked at her sadly. "It hurts me to see you hurting. So even if you don't love me, try to stop loving him. Please."

A tear rolled down Aria's cheek as she leaned in and whispered to Holden, "How on Earth could I not love you?" She turned and kissed him gently, then with more passion. Her tears kept flowing, but Holden wiped every single one away.


	8. Chapter 8

"Did you see where she went?" said a frantic Emily as she ran through the halls.

"I have NO idea," said Spencer. "She just ran away. I have no idea."

Hanna looked at her critically. "And you didn't see where she went? You were the first one out here. Are you SURE you have no idea where she is?"

"Hanna, I told you, I was stuck behind the crowd in the auditorium." Spencer collapsed against a nearby locker. "GODDAMMIT, I can't believe I lost her again!"

Spencer started to cry, and Emily sat down next to her. "Hanna, go find Aria. I'll stay here with Spencer." Hanna didn't want to, but a look passed between the two of them. Hanna nodded and dashed around the corner to where they last saw her.

Emily wrapped her arm around Spencer's shoulder and gave her a squeeze. "Listen, Aria is going to be fine."

Spencer looked at Emily, her eyes red and puffy. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't lost her that night, she wouldn't be so lost."

Emily shook her head. "Spence, that's definitely not true. Her boyfriend died. She'd be going crazy no matter what."

Spencer sniffled. "What if she does something crazy? What if she. . . hurts herself, or runs away?"

Emily sighed and pulled Spencer closer to her. "I know Aria well enough to know she wouldn't do something like that. I think we just need to wait for things to fall into place. Like when I started dating Paige. Everything just happened in the right way. And that will happen to her, I promise."

Spencer nodded, tears streaming down her face. "But how can you be sure? How can you be sure everything isn't going to be hell?"

"I just know, Spencer."

Just then, both of their phones beeped, alerting them to a new text message. Both girls froze, and Spencer grabbed Emily's hand. "Is that. . ."

"A?" Emily whispered. "Well, there's only one way to find out." She declared it with more confidence than she felt. Hands shaking, both of them grabbed their cells and read the messages together, out loud:

**I have Aria. She's fine, don't worry -Holden.**

The two smiled at each other and shut off their phones. "Em," said Spencer, "Do you think that the two of them. . ."

"Maybe," Emily breathed, her smile taking over her whole face. "I mean, it's a little soon, but he's so nice. . . and. . ."

"Cute," said Spencer, raising her eyebrows.

Emily laughed. "Yeah, he is really cute." She reached her arm down to Spencer and pulled her friend. "Come on, we have got to get back to class."

Spencer stood up and gave Emily a hug. "Maybe you're right," she said, shrugging. "Maybe everything might just work out at the end."

"They just might, Spence, they just might."

But she was wrong. Everything might not work out in the end. She would have known that if she kept her phone on. Only Hanna knew that everything wouldn't work out, because as she was roaming the halls for Aria, she received both Holden's text and another text. She read the second text a hundred times, but it didn't make sense.

**Things might not work out. In fact, things might just be a living nightmare. You'll have to wait and see. Hugs and kisses, bitch! -A**

It only made sense to her a few months later. Until after Halloween. After Maya's killer was exposed. Until after the horrid A-train. Until after Holden and Aria had been together, hugging and kissing but not quite going all the way, for a month.  
Things would change. Friendships would be tested. Bonds would be broken and formed again. Some would go away, some would be found. Some might even go away, permanently. And it was all going to happen during the senior year of highschool in little over a month.

But for that moment, Hanna walked to class and snapped her phone shut. Spencer and Emily strolled through the halls to get to their next class, certain that their futures would be brighter. And Aria and Holden kissed in the secret room, holding each other in the dark. That moment was perfect. And no matter how their year ended up, that moment was good. And happy. And perfect.

But nothing lasts forever.

**This is the end of the plot of this story, but there will be one more installation. This type of installation will be in all of my upcoming stories possibly, so tell me if you like it. I'm still playing around with the concept. I know it's a bit different then normal writing, but I think it's kind of cool. Did you like this story? It's purpose was to set up my next one, coming soon!**


	9. Chapter 9

_CHATROOM ACTIVATED: The TeAm  
Room activated by HugsnKisses  
PrettyMonaV has entered the chatroom  
CarpentryKingCavenaugh has entered the chatroom  
The_Dude has entered the chat room._

HUGS AND KISSES: "the dude?"r u serious? y'd u change ur screen name?  
THE_DUDE: u don't like it? i thought it sounded tough.  
HUGSNKISSES: 4 a pet pitbull, maybs. Not 4 a pipsqueek like u  
PRETTYMONAV: Lay off him  
HUGSNKISSES: JK, JK!  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: i like how u named the chatroom "the teAm." discreet much?  
THE_DUDE: i like it :)  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: Ass kisser  
PRETTYMONAV: Guys, leave him alone. So, miss hugs n kisses, y r we here? i had to sneak out again. radley security is tightening up,so this better b good  
HUGSNKISSES: I just wanted 2 make sure u guys all know- guess what curly haired pedophile is six feet under?  
THE_DUDE: So i've heard  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: WHAT?  
PRETTYMONAV: OMG, what the hell happened?  
HUGSNKISSES: just a tiny mistake on his part  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: WHAT happened  
HUGSNKISSES: a car accident ;)  
HUGSNKISSES: emphasis on "accident"  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: ARE YOU SERIOUS?

PRETTYMONAV: Girl, what did you do?  
HUGSNKISSES: Like I said, it was an accident. . .  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: Yeah, accident, after u've been targeting him for weeks. what happened?  
HUGSNKISSES: Tragic car crash. some1 ran him off the road. can't imagine who. . . .  
PRETTYMONAV: omg, u did NOT  
THE_DUDE: Yes, i think she did  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: y the hell didn't i hear it from spencer?  
HUGSNKISSESBITCH: She's been frazzled all week, trying to keep some1s crazy little gf from killing herself  
PRETTYMONAV: KILLING herself?  
HUGSNKISSES: chill, mona. im just being dramatic. aria won't be that cray cray until we r done with her  
HUGSNKISSES: soon she be crazy enough to land her in radley  
PRETTYMONAV: screw u. im only in here cause i took the bullet 4 this who team  
THE_DUDE: we know that mona and we appreciate it. i apprecite it  
PRETTYMONAV: 3  
HUGSNKISSES: excuse me while i go barf  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: wait so ezra is rly dead?  
HUGSNKISSES: yes sir. buried last week at rosewood cemetary

CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: i can't believe spencer didn't call me  
PRETTYMONAV: tob aren't u out of town for work  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH:well yeah, but we still text and stuff. this is kind of a big deal. y wouldn't she tell me?  
THE_DUDE: aria looks like shit. i took a peek in her window a few days ago, and she was a freaking zombie. spencer's probably too concerned with her.  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: too concerned to send one little text to her BOYFRIEND?

HUGSNKISSES: aww, is some1 getting all scared for his relationship? his FAKE relationship?  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: fuck off  
HUGSNKISSES: chill, chill. it doesn't matter. all that matters is that everything is going to plan. those bitches are going to pay, and i have a feeling it might be sooner rather than l8r  
PRETTYMONAV: sry, my cell is dying ive got to get back 2 radley b4 curfew  
THE_DUDE: yeah, i gotta get to class  
HUGSNKISSES: ur such a geek. only u would care about education at a time like this  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: any idea where sexybeast123 is?  
HUGSNKISSES: god, that is a lame screen name  
THE_DUDE: idk. haven't seen sexybeast123 all day. but guys i rly g2g. ttyl  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: bye man  
HUGSNKISSES: bye :*

_THE_DUDE has left the chatroom  
PrettyMonaV has left the chatroom_

HUGSNKISSES: now it's just the two of us ;)  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: don't get any ideas. i'm still with spencer, member?  
HUGSNKISSES: yeah, to get dirt on her. ur not actually with her  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: well, yeah, but i'm still with her  
HUGSNKISSES: omfg, u like her!  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: no i don't!  
HUGSNKISSES: dude u can't b serious. have u forgetten what she did to u? what she did to ME? what's she's done to all of us?  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: yeah, ik, but. . .  
HUGSNKISSES: there is no but. she is a monster, toby. and she is going to pay. they are all going to pay for what they did 2 u, 2 me, 2 all of us  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: ik, sry  
HUGSNKISSES: good. now get back to work. no job= no money= no team  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: yes, boss :p  
HUGSNKISSES: :(  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: c u l8r  
HUGSNKISSES: bye

_CarpentryKingCavenaugh has left the chatroom  
HugsnKisses has closed chatroom "The TeAm"_

**Well, that is it for A Unexpected Twist! The main installment of this story, Challenging Fate, should have its first chapter posted soon. The story mainly focuses on Spoby and Sparia's friendship. I'll probably post a chapter or two a day. Please read it and please review! It's full of insanity, and it solves Ali's murder and the A mystery once and for all. **


End file.
